I would wait in line for an autographed copy!

Ooh, never thought of that! That’s brilliant! Would she have two hands? Because that’s the part I couldn’t figure out if it really was Jaime. Seeing as he’s not in a position to wrap his hands around anybody’s throat.

Was it her younger brother, or just “the” younger brother? Like, any younger brother?

It has to be a little brother, but I don’t suppose it has to be Cersei’s own little brother, does it? Seems like Jaime would have trouble “wrapping his hands about her white throat and choking the life from her” or however the prophecy puts it.

Oh, I hope not! (But I bet you’re right.)

Almost. It was the Mad King’s son Rhaegar, Dany’s much-older brother. So Dany is Jon’s auntie.

I think it is an unreasonable request, actually, yes. But I don’t think that’s why some folks are getting annoyed at you. I think, whether you intended it or not, your tone came across as kind of snarkily self-righteous. I’m not saying you, as a person, are snarky or self-righteous. It’s just so easy to be misread in…

I don’t think you sounded like a dick. I think you sounded flippant.

Right?

Ha! I don’t think it’s a question of being educated — I just happen to have taken part in a student production of Titus Andronicus back when I was in my teens. I always loved acting but was never all that good at it, so Lavinia (tongueless for most of the play) was about as good a part as I could expect.

Ha! :) I didn’t mean to sound so diffident. I shouldn’t have phrased it as a question. That’s a very bad habit of mine. I’m afraid my brain isn’t terribly reliable because of a long-term connective tissue disease, so I never feel completely confident I’ve remembered correctly or am reasoning clearly. I can’t fix my…

You mean he could have known the story even if he had no Greek, because of Seneca? I’m sure you’re right that he could/did know the story. I wasn’t trying to claim that the Thyestes story was really either unknown to Shakespeare (I was just kidding about the “small Latin”) or unimportant as background. I just meant…

All I meant was, I think the direct references in Titus are limited to the Tereus-Philomel-Procne part of the story. I didn’t mean to dismiss the House of Atreus as unimportant!

Yes, sure, I just meant that Titus seems kind of focused on the Tereus-Philomel-Procne instantiation. I don’t mean to suggest that the Thyestes story is irrelevant at all, just that the most direct references in Titus seem to involve T&P.

Sure, I have no doubt you are right. I think I remember a Maori legend along those lines. (Though perhaps I am thinking of revenge for the killing of a pet whale.)

Great point.

Yeah, but I don’t think that was a source for Titus, was it? I always had the impression it was just the Tereus/Philomel/Procne bit from the Metamorphoses. Which I guess would make sense, if WS really did have “small Latin and no Greek.”

And TA takes it from Ovid, right? Doesn’t Procne end up serving Tereus their son Itys, in revenge for what he did to Philomela?

Exactly what I thought!

The rat cook, a story Bran tells the others on the way to the TER.